Butterflies on Speed Pills

What I’ve learned about action research?  In one of our class texts, it mentioned two paradigms in research; process-product research & qualitative/interpretive.  Both were complex and usually involved outside individuals.  The refresher of action research is it basis of in-house research and collaboration.  With the other two paradigms, staff members would possibly be criticized by principals because of what they heard from principal’s meeting.  Then it became a game of “here is what you need to do to fix it, now do it”.  With action research we now have collaboration to the core with administrators/practitioners and not just from them.  The dictatorship of school house seniority has become the cohesiveness of true democracy. 

 

I also was intrigued by the principal/teacher inquiry.  I can see the difficulty of prinicpals having to invoke principal inquiry at any given point during the school year.  But, as a teacher, I must also relate to the Mike Connolly comment of describing principals as “butterflies on speed pills”  Working on a Masters Degree, being department head, trying to be a good husband to my wife, a good father to my children, a good packleader to my dog, a good collegue, oh and a good teacher (I forgot what I did for living) has made me a “butterfly on speed pills” in my own rite. 

 

I once saw a sign outside a church say, “If you’re too busy to read the Bible, then you’re too busy.”  In essence, it’s time to put life in check and prioritize, organize and strategize.  If we all could do this, the true definition of synergy would be evident.